Kissies
by Ladya C. Maxine
Summary: Young Kai and Tala share their first kiss. Unfortunately, Boris doesn't take it too well...


Title: Kissies

Authoress: Ladya C. Maxine

Rating: T

Summary: Little Kai and Tala share their first kiss…

Warnings: shonen-ai

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade or any of its characters. Any and all unrecognizable characters belong solely to me and are not to be touched. I am not making any money off of this and I write with the sole intent to entertain.

A/N: What an adorable title. Stupid Microsoft Word gave me a hard time because it insists that 'kissies' is not a word (which it isn't really), but it's just too damn cute! I have shonen-ai up as a warning because, as the title suggest, the boys do kiss in this one, but not in the sense that there is any romantic or hentai connotations attached to their actions.

Sadly, I removed this segment from the final version of Untold Truths (and I have no idea why), but to those of you who read it in its original form, a reminder of the conversation in that story that lead me to write this one-shot: During their visit to the zoo with Saskia, Ata (Tala) tells Ray about the time he and Kai kissed for the first time. This little one-shot hopes to capture that precious moment. Both boys are seven in this one.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Kissies**

_By Ladya C. Maxine_

* * *

"Is he eating her?" 

"I don't think so."

"I think he is."

"It would hurt then. She's not screaming."

"But she is making strange noises."

Kai was still doubtful and peered around the corner for a moment before pulling back, looking down at the redhead who was kneeling before him, also spying. Well, it wasn't really spying. They had just happened upon this weird scene and didn't want to intrude until they knew what they were up against. If what Ata said was right and that man was really eating that lady then neither wanted to go down there.

"Maybe we should tell Boris," Ata opted, looking up at his friend.

"Maybe he'll eat Boris," Kai shrugged. That wouldn't be too big a loss.

"But Boris is the boss." Ata went back to spying, now on all fours. "Remember Nagy?"

"That freckled kid who used to wet himself a lot?"

Ata nodded seriously.

"Yeah, him. No one has seen him all week. The last time anyone saw him was when the trainers sent him down to the basement for a check-up with…"

Both leaned back into the hall. The scientist now had the woman up against the wall, a hand slipping under her skirt. Suddenly, she cried out loud, her back arching.

"He's breaking her leg off!" Ata gasped, blue eyes wide. "He's going to eat it like a drumstick!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

The two jumped, not having heard the other walk up from behind. Looking over their shoulders, they had to strain their necks quite a bit, especially Ata, who was still in a crouched position, to meet the tall boy's eyes. Vadim, an below average blader who served as Bryan's currentsparring partner during hand-to-hand combat training. He was twelve, three years older than Bryan, but the researchers here had learned a long ago that having Bryan train with older students was the best and most cost efficient method; they used to spend a fortune on hospital bills. Older and bigger boys usually lasted a lot longer against Bryan, but that wasn't always guaranteed. Vadim here had just been released from the infirmary yesterday where he had been recovering from a fractured collar bone.

Ata flinched back a bit, keeping close to Kai. He had only been reintroduced to the Abbey and its inhabitants seven months ago. The only person he felt fully comfortable with was Kai, though he was starting to get a liking for the rest of their team. Ian was fun to be with and Spencer was very nice to him, especially for a big boy. Next to Kai, though, he preferred being around Bryan. The falcon wasn't necessarily as open and friendly as the others, but he gave Ata a secure feeling.

"That man's eating that lady," Kai said when Ata didn't voice his suspicions, gripping the bluenette's pants leg.

"Say what?" Vadim frowned, stepping past them and looking down the hall.

He scowled at the sight and muttering something about 'sinners', he quickly grabbed the two boys each by an upper arm and dragged them away from the scene, not stopping until they were out of the labyrinths of corridors. The bright outdoors of the open inner court awaiting them as they neared the doorway. Once outside, standing in the snowy area, Vadim released them roughly.

"E-Excuse me," Ata dared to whisper, still concerned about what they had seen. "Aren't you going to tell someone? What if he's still hungry--"

"You dolt. He wasn't eating her," Vadim rolled his eyes.

"Then what was he doing?" Kai challenged, stepping before the redhead.

"Kissing."

"Kissing?" Ata frowned, having never even heard of the word due to his severely fragmented past. He turned to Kai. "It looked gross. Why were they doing that?"

"Because they like each other," Vadim said in a condescending tone of voice. He didn't like this new comer with those blue eyes; a strangechild with a mysterious past and great blading skills. It was insulting that this stranger had been placed in such a high rank the moment he had stepped foot inside the Abbey. "Don't you know anything, girly?"

There it was. The G-word.

"Don't call him that!" Kai bristled, stepping forward though he didn't even reach the other's chest. "Apologize to Ata."

Insulted at having just been told what to do by a seven-year-old, he grabbed the little bluenette by the long scarf around his neck. He also grabbed the redhead even though he hadn't said anything. Ata gasped. Physical contact with anyone other than his friends made him very uncomfortable and right now his wrist was being twisted in a very painful manner.

"Are you ordering me around?" Vadim sneered.

"I'm Votaire's grandson. I can order anyone I want around," he spat back haughtily. "Apologize to Ata!"

"I don't apologize to babies. And Lord Voltaire isn't here."

"Bryan is," Ata pointed out innocently, wincing as the hand on his aching wrist tightened at the news.

Indeed, while Vadim had been getting in their faces, the Falborg blader had emerged from the blading hall. Having spotted the trio, he had crossed the snow covered court and was now standing there, light eyes fixed on his 'partner' who was standing in a threatening manner over the two small boys, his friends, holding them in a manner that could only inflict extreme discomfort. The smaller of the two was breathing heavily, blue eyes wide as he desperately tried to free himself from his aggressor. Not an impression one would like to give the falcon.

Immediately, Vadim dropped them and stepped back, hand drifting to his barely mended collar bone.

"I…uh…found them hanging around in the…um…downstairs and…I…"

"Gym," Bryan simply said, his eyes leaving the two to fixate on him, unreadable yet foreboding.

"We have no fight-trainings scheduled for today," Vadim argued worriedly.

"We do now."

He paled and swallowed nervously but Bryan's stare remained indifferent. The falcon did give the younger boys another look over, staring at Ata noticeably longer. Satisfied that they were fine, he turned on his heels, black boots barely making a sound as he began to make his way towards the gym where the sparring ring was. Vadim looked around desperately, trying to find someone to flag down. He knew better than to just make a run for it; Bryan enjoyed a good chase and once the falcon's adrenaline kicked in the chances of a full recovery lessened drastically. Swallowing again, with no staff member in sight to help him, Vadim followed, taking shuffled steps, his fists shaking at his side.

Watching the two older boys go, Kai huffed. He would have liked to teach Vadim a lesson on his own, but he had to admit that Bryan was far more capable of putting him in his place. Kai hoped that when he was older he too could intimidate others around him like the falcon.

"You okay?" he turned to Ata who nodded. "Come on, we can go to my room."

Taking a still trembling hand in his, he tugged the other along. It was cold outside and having been dragged out from the relative warmth of the indoors, wearing no jackets, made the weather even more uncomfortable.

"Kai?" Ata asked as the two of them climbed down the stone steps to where their rooms were in the vast dormitories.

"Yeah?"

"Is it true…what he said?"

"About what?"

"About kissing? That that man was kissing that lady because they liked each other?"

Kai adopted a thoughtful expression. Vadim was a jerk, but also an older boy, meaning that he would know about these things, so what he had said was most likely true. He himself hadn't known the exact meaning behind kissing, but now that he did he pretended otherwise. Besides, as Ata's self-assigned guide and teacher he should know everything. That, and his pride would never allow him to admit out loud that he didn't know everything.

"Of course," he answered wisely. "Everyone who likes each other kiss."

Opening the door to his room, he ushered the redhead inside. It wasn't as big or nice as his room back home, but since his grandfather insisted that he spent time at the abbey he had come to accept it as for what it is. It only had a plain bed, a closet for his clothes and a desk where he had to do his homework on; no different than the hundreds of other rooms here. There was one thing about it that made him prefer it over his own bedroom; his friends were usually in it. Ata and Ian weren't allowed to leave the Abbey, since they were too young by Abbey rules,and while Bryan and Spencer had lodged by him in the penthouse a few times they all preferred staying together, even if it meant staying in this place.

Ata climbed onto the bed, sitting with his legs dangling over the side. This whole kissing thing still intrigued him. He had never seen it done before. Those two grown-ups had made it look pretty scary, though. How can something like that mean that they liked each other?

"Kai?" he asked, looking over a shoulder at the bluenette laying on the mattress behind him.

"Hm?"

"Does that mean that we have to kiss too?"

The red eyes looked up at him with some confusion.

"Why?"

"I like you, and you like me…right?"

"Yeah."

"So if people have to kiss because they like each other, should we also kiss?"

That was a good question. He had once seen his parents kiss, though it had been** nothing** like what they had just seen down in the hallway, and afterwards they had told each other that they loved one another. He knew his parents cared about each other a lot, almost as much as they cared about him, he was sure. But he had never given this whole kissing thing much thought. Yet, again, he was the person Ata turned to in times like these; he wasn't sure about the situation, but he decided to just act like he did.

"Yeah, but we don't have to. We hug a lot. That's just as good."

Ata shifted, worrying his lower lip as he thought.

"…I want to try it."

"Why?"

He shrugged.

"I don't know. I like you a lot and...It's okay to try, isn't it?"

Sitting up, Kai studied the other boy. Ata was right. What harm could come out of it?

"Okay," he said, moving in closer.

"...What do we do?" Ata whispered, fiddling with his sleeves. "Are there like rules or something or...or do we flip a coin or..."

Natural dominance kicking in, Kai leaned forward, stopping the smaller boy off in mid-ramble. Their lips brushed and almost at once both their cheeks heated and they quickly pulled back, eyeing the other shyly. This was much more different then hugging and simply saying 'I love you'. It felt…very personal. When his lips had touched Ata's he had felt a strange tingling in his body. It hadn't hurt but he had never experienced anything like that. It kinda scared him.

Still, he was determined to be the bigger man here, even though Ata was one month older than him, so he leaned in once more, this time forcing his lips against the other's. Ata made a startled yip but he persisted, trying to imitate what he had seen the scientist doing. It wasn't all that graceful, but soon both were active participants. The longer they kept it up, the more enjoyable it became but still...Faltering for a moment, he wrapped his arms around the redhead, just like the scientist had done to the lady. Finding that pulling Ata closer made kissing him easier, he hugged him tight. His chest was beginning to burn, though, and he could hear his friend taking quick gasps of air whenever he got the chance. How could--

"WHAT ON **EARTH **ARE YOU TWO DOING?"

Startled, they pulled away, cheeks still flushed, feeling horribly guilty for reasons they didn't even understand.

Boriswas standingin the open doorway, his face getting redder and redder. The pencil he washolding snapped in his tight fist. Slamming the door shut, he marched over, cold eyes searing them.

"You filthy little demons! Where did you pick up such atrocious behaviors? You...You...hell spawns!"

Ata, cowering behind Kai, was grabbed first, his whole body shaking as his chin was caught. His neck almost snapped when his head was forced upwards. The director's face was but an inch from his, nostrils flaring with each enraged breath.

"You! You and your mutant family! I will not have you influencing my students in this manner! It's the whip for you, boy!"

"We didn't do anything wrong!" Kai shouted, trying to pry the man's hands off the redhead, who was sobbing fearfully. "It was just one kiss!"

"Just one? So, you've been infected as well? Fine then, you both will be punished!"

"I'm sorry, Kai!" Ata cried as they were ruthlessly dragged out of the room and towards the dungeons. "I'm sorry! I didn't know it was wrong!"

"Then I'm just going to have to teach you otherwise," Boris snarled, his steps fast and wide, the two boys tripping and stumbling, unable to keep up and were dragged several feet at times. Neither had ever seen the man, their trainer, so angry. In Bryan's own words: He was pissed. "A lesson that you'll never forget."

Kai remained silent.

Ata continued to cry.

* * *

_An hour later..._

"Ow! Bryan!"

"Stop fidgeting."

"It hurts!"

"That's the idea behind whippings," Bryan said in a bored voiceas he applied the strips of wet cloth to Kai's back. "It's not effective if it doesn't hurt."

The bluenette winced as another piece of cloth was placed over a laceration but managed a weak glare back at him.

"How would you know? You never get punished for anything."

"Not anymore," Spencer corrected a couple of feet away, busy tending to the redhead whose eyes were still filled with tears as his body shuddered every now and then. "Bry used to get whipped but they gave up when it only made him more aggressive."

Smirking proudly at that, the falcon continued, pausing sometimes to wipe away the excess blood. That he was a good medic was ironic; he made more patients then he healed. Actually, his knowledge of first aid was a result of having been around Spencer for so long. Before the younger three, it had been only the two of them here in the Abbey. At the time Bryan had just begun his training but had been nonetheless someone who preferred to resolve arguments with his fists, which used to get him beat up a bit and since he hated being tended to by doctors, or anyone else, Spencer had been given a crash course in first aid to treat the wounds. Nowadays no one in their right mind picked a fight with the Falborg blader. Having picked up on the techniques, he now assisted Spencer when it came to patching up their friends. Ian in particular was infamous for tripping over and/or falling off of things for no apparent reason and always had scabbed knees and elbows.

Ata whimpered when Spencer applied an alcohol soaked cotton ball to his torn skin. The blond stopped, re-thought his actions, and decided to just stick to warm water, mercifully.

Watching the redhead flinch and sob despite the as gently as possible treatment from where he laid a couple of feet away on the floor as well, Kai looked away angrily. Angry at Boris. Angry with himself.

The punishment for their heinous crimes (whatever that meant,) had been twenty whips each, personally dealt by Boris himself. The crop, a short yet very thin strip of metal wrapped in leather, didn't leave lasting scars as the cuts were often thin but they sure hurt a lot more than a normal, broader whip. Kai had gotten the crop a couple of times before, mainly for back talking a trainer, and had known what to expect. He had gone first, biting his lip until it had bled as the crop had come down again and again on his back. Boris had purposefully let Ata wait and watch on. By the time the redhead had been called forward onto the bloodied spot before the director he had been near hysterics, sobbing Kai's name as he watched the blood seep from the wounds. Counter wise, Kai had been forced to endure the boy's screams as the sound of leather connecting and ripping flesh infiltrated his ears.

"Why did you get whipped?" Ian asked, sitting before them all on the floor. He had collected the medical kits while the older boys had begun to remove the shredded shirt that had become embedded in their skins. "Boris keeps going on and on and on about devil's seeds and blasyminy youth."

"Blasphemous," Spencer corrected once more, finally satisfied with his work and sitting back on his heels. "It means improper."

"So what did you do that was improper? Did you moon someone?" Ian giggled at the thought.

"No, stupid," Kai growled, not in the mood for jokes at all. "We kissed."

Spencer raised a brow and looked over to Bryan who paused mid-action, violet eyes widening slightly.

"You were what?" he asked, looking between their two patients.

Ata didn't respond, fingers curled in the blanket he was laying on. Tearing his eyes away from the broken sight, Kai explained.

"Kissing. Boris barged into my room and saw us and got all angry and started shouting and blamed Ata for polluting me and whipped us."

"Can't blame him," Bryan muttered, pulling off one of the cloths none too gently.

"Ow!" Kai complained, jumping. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're not supposed to kiss just anyone."

"Ata isn't just anyone. He's my friend!"

"You don't kiss friends. It's not right."

"But we saw a man and lady kissing today and Vadim said that they were kissing because they like each other."

"Vadim?" Spencer asked inquiringly. "Didn't he get out of the hospital wing yesterday?"

"He checked back in this afternoon," Bryan answered as if describing the weather. "Don't listen to that idiot anymore, Hiwatari. I have better things to do than playing nurse."

"You'd look cute in a white dress," Ian grinned.

A roll of bandage isn't all that dangerous but when throw by Bryan it can hurt just as badly as a rock.

"If he gets a nose bleed then _you _are goingto treat it," Spencer warned, watching as the small boy muttered some choice curses as he held his nose.

"We'd need a dam," Bryan taunted, earning a one-fingered salute. Ian was only seven but he had learned that one from the falcon himself.

Having cleaned and bandaged the wounds, Spencer and Bryan picked up their patients and carried them over to Bryan's bed, laying them down on their stomachs. They had agreed to keep the two here for the night. If he planned to punish the two some more, Boris would think twice about trying to remove the boys from Bryan's room. The director usually avoided even stepping inside. He knew better. Bryan was a loyal student and one of their most powerful bladers, but the fact remained that he was mentally and morally...unpredictable, and was known to be easily angered, which tended to lead to property damage or missing staff. Boris really knew better; forcibly removing either Kai or Ata from Bryan's territory (his room) would make him even more volatile and troublesome to manage. The director wouldn't risk that.

Not listening to the others talked as they gathered the remaining bandages and bloodied cloths, Kai watched Ata instead. The blue eyes were closed, lashes still wet with tears. Ata looked positvely drained, exhausted and in a great deal of pain despite their friends' treatment. He hated himself. He should have admitted that he didn't know anything on the matter of kissing; he had acted so important and all-knowing just to save face. He should have just admitted defeat or told Ata no. But he hadn't. And because of him Ata had been whipped. All because of his pride, his best friend's blood now stained that crop.

"Ata?"

"Yeah?" he replied, voice so soft and weary, his eyes barely managing to open on their own.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, red eyes shimmering. "This wasn't supposed to happen."

"It's okay."

"No, it's not. We got whipped and now you're hurting and I couldn't do anything to stop it."

"It's not your fault, Kai."

"But the kiss...I was the one who..."

Despite the continuous burning on his back, Ata offered a shaky but small smile.

"I kinda liked the kiss."

Caught off guard, Kai blushed.

"...Me too."

The door closed behind Spencer and Ian. The latter was going to bed, but the blond had to get back to the field for a late night obstacle course. Bryan was supposed to go too, but he had decided to stay here and keep an eye on his charges. His coach wasn't going to be too happy with him skipping classes, but if the man knew what was good for him he'd put up with it this one time, unless he wanted to join Vadim in the infirmary. It wasn't for nothing that the falcon had earned himself the rights to carry his hunting dagger around at all times.

Despite his near certainty that Boris would stay away for the night, Bryan laid himself down on his bed, keeping himself between the two and the door. If Boris had his reservations about the boys sleeping in here he'd have to face him first before he could get to either. He wasn't going to sleep, but he might as well rest his body for now.

"Bryan?" Ata, lying between him and Kai, asked after a few minutes of peaceful silence.

"Hn?"

"Have you ever kissed someone you liked?"

He scoffed, turning his head to meet the bright blue eyes. A dual-haired head lifted slightly, red eyes waiting for an answer as well. These two could be so childish at times with their innocent questions and ideals. Boris had mentioned something about them forming Russia newest beyblade team with either Kai or Tala as team captain. Kai he could at least picture, but Ata, with his hesitating demeanor and soft voice, would make an odd choicefor a leader. He couldn't help wondering what the redhead would be like as a teen. It was hard to imagine him as anything other than the timid boy he was now.

"So, have you?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because."

"That's not an answer," Kai argued.

"My room, my rules," Bryan answered, stretching slightly to ease his back.

"Would..." Ata blushed but found the courage to ask, "Would you ever kiss us?"

"What?" he balked. "No!"

"Don't you like us?"

"I didn't say that."

"Prove it," Kai insisted, also interested in what the eldest boy thought of the whole matter.

"I am **not** going to kiss you."

"Why not?"

"Because…you're too young."

"And when we're big enough?" Ata asked, watching him closely.

There was only one way out of this. Give in.

"Yeah, whatever. Now stop talking and go to sleep."

The two finally settled down. Kai simply drifted off to sleep but before those blue eyes closed Tala gave him a pleased smile. Their newest team member could be so innocent and gullible at times. Things others didn't give a second thought over he took to heart. And now he was positive that unless they kiss they didn't like one another.

Bryan sighed in annoyance.

Of all the ridiculous things…Vadim had better hoped that those broken kneecaps would get him transferred to the hospital in town for at least six months because if he caught him walking around the abbey any time sooner his sparring partner would be needing prostetics by the time he was done with him. Because of that fool he had just committed himself to a promise he wasn't looking forward to.

Maybe Tala would have forgotten by then...

* * *

**The End**

* * *

A/N: Yes, this fic saw the return of the dreaded G-word. Ata's reaction wasn't as severe as in the other mainly because he was still too naïve to know any better. 

Notice that the chips or Dranzer Demon weren't mentioned. Those only came into play after Saskia was born (which didn't happen for another year) so neither Kai nor Ata have their chips yet. Besides, these one-shots, though part of the Untold Truths universe, are just light-hearted, warm moment between them and their friends.

Now, with an ending like that I just **have** to write a one-shot in which, now teenagers, Bryan has to make true of his promise. Friends, aren't they grand? Geez, I am growing more and more attached to Bryan with every story. He's just so cute in season 3! Love the hair. And the smirk.

Read & Review, please.


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